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Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Welcome to the game that almost certainly will decide the winner of the NFC East this season. Giants. Eagles. New York. Philadelphia. Greatest city in the world. The place where July 4 became something more than a summer day. (Yes, that’s right: Philadelphia is home to our nation’s first backyard cookout.) Oh, yeah, and Cliff Lee lives there, too. Or at least, he will soon, now that he has instructed Brian Cashman and the Yankees to give their bags of money to players like Russell Martin. Cliff didn’t need the money. He liked the Phillies more than money, even though they traded him after the 2009 season, when he pitched them to the World Series. The trade was to Seattle, for a dozen beers. Now do you understand why Yankees fans are insulted?

But that’s baseball, and pre-pre-season at that. In football, Philadelphia has nothing on New York. The Eagles haven’t won a Super Bowl since, since – well, the Eagles have never won the Super Bowl. Who knew? They have, however, beaten the Giants five straight times, including once earlier this year, when Kevin Kolb’s backup, a guy named Michael Vick, led them to a 27-17 win. Or perhaps it’s better to say that Eli Manning led the Giants to a defeat, throwing three interceptions and fumbling late in the fourth quarter after running for a first down on fourth-and-6.

The Eagles have the best offense in the league, averaging 402.8 yards a game, and they often infuriate opponents with long-yardage plays, both in the air and on the ground, like the 50-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy on fourth-and-1 in the last meeting between these teams. (For more on the Eagles’ mastery of the big play, read Aditi Kinkhabwala’s story in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal.) The Eagles are tied for second in the league in takeaways, with 30. The Giants defense leads the league with 31, but Manning and the offense have turned the ball over 33 times, more than any other team in the NFL. Manning has thrown a maddening 19 interceptions, most in the NFL, and has tossed seven picks in his last four games against the Eagles. Asante Samuel, who is listed as “questionable” for today’s game but will play, nabbed four of those interceptions.

Expect the Giants to run today – a lot. Since these two teams last played, Brandon Jacobs has averaged more than eight yards a carry and Ahmad Bradshaw has continued to dazzle. The Giants’ offensive line will receive an early Christmas present today, as center Shaun O’Hara returns from an injury. The Eagles’ best receiver, DeSean Jackson, has a sprained foot but told the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this week, “I can’t let my troops go out there without me.” If the Eagles win today, there will be plenty of time to rest in the next two weeks – and maybe during a bye week in the playoffs.